Fast Cars and Freedom
by TeejayH
Summary: College AU: It was the second week of summer and Regina just happened to wander into the diner in Santa Monica where Emma was holding down a summer job. Though she's just a scholarship kid from San Bernardino and Regina from Bel Air, there's no way this could just be 'summer love.' POSSIBLE RATING CHANGE IN LATER CHAPTERS
1. Chapter 1

The sun was already coming through the window when Emma's phone vibrated, letting her know that it was time for her to get up. She groaned as her hand fumbled around the bed trying to find the irritating thing that had burst in at a perfect moment in her dream. Buried deep under the covers, Emma found her phone and stared at the screen. The screen flashed '9:15' at her and Emma bolted upright in her bed. 'Shit.' She cursed and threw herself out of bed. 'Shit. Shit. Shit.' She repeated as she quickly reached for the closest pair of jeans she could find, fumbled to find her work shirt, and then quickly threw on her trusty black combat boots. She ran over to the sink at the other side of the room as quickly as she could and brushed her teeth in record time before throwing her long, blonde hair back into a sloppy ponytail.

Emma grabbed her backpack and her bike before she locked the door behind her and practically sprinted down the hall. It was now 9:28, if she could make it to the bus stop within the next five minutes, she could probably still make it to work on time. Luckily, the restaurant was only a few minutes from where the bus dropped her off. _Ugh, I need to get better at saying "no" to Ruby.'_Emma thought as she made it to the stop just as the bus was pulling up and placed her bike on the rack at the front before boarding.

She looked at her phone again once she sat down, 9:31. She let out a long breath and let her head fall back against the back of the seat. She might be able to actually pull this off. She really would hate to be late, especially because it was only her second week of work and she really needed this job. She was grateful that Ruby had talked her grandmother into letting Emma have a job for the summer. Without her work-study program during the year, there was no way Emma could have afforded to stay in her apartment without the Lucas family, once again, being so generous and helpful. Plus, it was cool to be able to hang out at the beach all summer, even though it was behind the counter of a diner.

It was ten minutes after ten when Emma skidded to a halt in front of the diner and locked her bike to the parking sign outside the restaurant. She threw open the door and ran behind the counter, dropping her backpack underneath it and grabbing her apron from when she had stashed it yesterday. 'You're late, girl.' Emma heard from the kitchen, and then turned to find Mrs. Lucas, or 'Granny,' as everyone called her. She had owned this diner since she took over for her mother before her. She was nice enough, but if there was one thing she didn't tolerate, it was tardiness.

'I'm sorry, Granny. I missed the bus.' Emma lied. She didn't want her to know that she had actually just hit the 'snooze' button a few too many times in her sleep.

Granny hurumphed to herself. 'And I'm sure that granddaughter of mine had nothing to do with it.' She said. 'You're a nice girl, Emma, and I love my granddaughter, but I'd hate for her laziness rub off on you too much.'

'No need to worry about that, Granny.' Emma assured her with a smile.

'I hope so.' Granny eyed Emma suspiciously, but then disappeared into the kitchen. Emma got to work brewing a fresh pot of coffee and wiping down the counter. The first shift had just left and they were usually pretty good about cleaning up for the second shift, but since Emma was already in a little bit of trouble she wanted to make sure everything was perfect if Granny were to leave her post in the kitchen.

About ten minutes into her shift, the door bell rang and Emma looked up to see a girl with short brown hair wearing an expensive looking, black maxi-dress and oversized sunglasses walk in. The dark haired girl took a seat at the counter, took her headphones out of her ears before winding them up and putting them into her purple, patent leather handbag. 'Hey! What can I get ya?' Emma asked and the girl looked up to meet Emma's green eyes. Emma's breath hitched when she did. _Oh fuck!_ _Hey there, gorgeous._ Emma thought to herself.

The girl across the counter looked up at the black boards above the counter with the fare listed on them. 'Um, just a cup of coffee for now. I'm waiting for my mother and I don't know how much time I have.' She said as she rolled her eyes slightly and looked at her black and rose gold watch. Then, she looked up and smiled at Emma.

'You got it, gorgeous!' Emma said and slapped her hand lightly on the counter. The other girl cocked her eyebrow curiously at Emma. As she turned away from the counter, she shook her head at herself slightly. _Smooth, Swan. Real smooth. This is why we don't have a girlfriend._ Emma chided herself as she went about the business of getting the girl her coffee. When she turned back around, she reminded herself to be cool otherwise not only might she freak the girl out, but could probably lose out on a tip of any kind. 'One coffee. Would you like any cream or sugar?'

'Um,' The other girl began, 'do you have soy milk or almond milk, by any chance?' She asked and then nervously ran her fingers through her hair. _Adorable, _Emma thought.

'Yeah we've got something like that.' Emma said as she turned around to the refrigerator behind her. 'It's unsweetened, though. I hope that's not a problem cause it's all we've got.' Emma offered the other girl a smile.

The girl returned Emma's smile. 'That's perfectly fine, thank you.'

'Not a problem.' Emma said as she handed the carton of soy milk to her. 'Let me know if there's anything else you need.' Emma then spun on her heel and walked to the other end of the counter and desperately looked for something that she could pretend to be busy with. After finding a few sugar containers that looked like they needed filling, Emma went to the back to grab the large bags of sugar that she could use to refill them.

When she was headed back to man the counter, she heard the bell at the door ring again and picked up her pace. She knew that one of the other servers would help her out with the counter if she had to step away for a second, but she was kind of hoping to steal one more look at the gorgeous brunette before she left. 'Regina, there you are, darling.' A voice that Emma hadn't heard before said as she rounded the corner and saw an older brunette sitting next to the girl who had previously been alone at the counter. 'I thought you and I were going to have brunch and you disappeared.' The older woman was holding various shopping bags on both arms and she took a second to place them on the floor before checking her watch that was almost identical to the younger girl's beside her.

'I told you I was going next door to get a cup of coffee and wait for you, mother.' The young girl's posture had visibly straightened since her mother arrived.

'Well, yes, I suppose, but then you didn't answer your phone and I had to come over here to fetch you.' The woman seemed irrationally annoyed. 'Now come along. We have reservations for 11 on Sunset and you know how mad traffic can be at this time of day. Plus, the car is already waiting outside.' The older woman didn't even bother so much of a glance at Emma before she picked up her bags and began to walk towards the door.

Emma looked at the girl still seated there and she returned Emma's gaze with an almost apologetic look. 'How much do I owe you for the coffee?' She asked as she stood up and began to rummage through her handbag to find her wallet, Emma presumed.

Emma raised her hand to stop her. 'First one's on the house.' The smile that the girl gave her in return made Emma's hear skip a beat.

'Thank you very much,' She eyed Emma's name tag, 'Emma.' And then with a turn she was headed towards the door after her mother.

'Have a good day!' Emma called out after her. _Regina, _Emma finished in her head. _Fuck, I'm such a loser_. Emma thought to herself and scrubbed a hand over her face.

'We'll never pull in a profit if you keep giving coffee away to every skirt that comes into this place, girl.' Emma heard Granny say from the kitchen window.

'Yeah. Yeah.' Emma rolled her eyes and continued to fill the sugar containers while she waited for the lunch rush to begin and tried not to let herself day dream about the beautiful brunette from before. _Regina._ She reminded herself. _Her name is Regina. _


	2. Chapter 2

When Emma got off work around seven, she got on her bike and rode a few blocks through the Santa Monica streets. She had promised Ruby, who lived over on that part of town, that she would hang out after work to grab a few drinks. Apparently, the live music at whatever bar it was that they were going to do was pretty good. Actually, what Ruby had said was, 'The drinks are strong and the chick who plays music there on Thursday night is bangin.' So, Emma figured there was no harm in going and hanging out for a while. Even though the last time that she had hung out with Ruby when she didn't have work the next day Emma ended up having to toss her bicycle into the back of an uber and spent half of her weeks wages to get home. _Not going to happen this time_. Emma assured herself.

Emma arrived at the bar, which was in the basement of an old brick building in Venice. She had been there a few times, but not as many times as Ruby, who always seemed to know every barman in town. A fact that always had Emma shaking her head at her leggy friend. Emma looked around the room and spotted Ruby leaning over the bar giving the barman a kiss on the cheek. She turned and noticed Emma standing awkwardly at the bottom of the stairs. 'Oi, Swan!' She shouted and waved her over.

'Hey, Rubes!' Emma said as Ruby leaned in and kissed her on both cheeks before pulling her into a hug.

'You made it!' Ruby all but squealed. 'I didn't think that Granny was going to let you out on time.'

'Well, here I am!' Emma smiled. 'I'm just going to go and change out of my work shirt. Give me a sec, will ya?'

'Sure thing, babes. Do you want a beer?' Ruby called after her.

'Please!' Emma called back. Once in the bathroom, she washed her face and changed her shirt. She attempted to tame the now frizzy mess of her hair, but opted to just pull it back in another ponytail because one thing she had learned throughout her life was that, most of the time, there was no taming that mess. So, instead she threw her backpack over her shoulder and walked out of the bathroom to rejoin her friend.

'Here you are, my darling!' Ruby said to Emma as she handed her a full pint of lager.

Emma took a generous sip of the golden liquid and closed her eyes as the tension slowly began to leave her body. 'Gods, I needed this.' Emma admitted.

'I told you Granny was a hardass when I got you the job!' Ruby reminded Emma.

'No, it's not just that. The job is fine. I'm just still stressing about school.' Emma said. 'I still haven't heard anything about whether or not my grant is going to be renewed and that B minus I got in maths might have affected my scholarship. If I don't get that money, Rubes, I might have to take a semester off from school.'

'Hey hey, Em, you'll be fine.' Ruby threw an arm around her friend. 'You're a resourceful little street rat. You'll be fine, I promise.' The taller girl kissed Emma on her cheek and pulled her close. Emma smiled at the term of endearment. Ruby had always been the only friend that Emma had that not only knew about her past, but didn't use it as a reason to pity her. 'Now, seriously, you have to see this chick. I think her set's about to start. Totally your type. Like whoa!'

Emma rolled her eyes and shook her head at her friend's relentless quest to hook her up with someone, and followed Ruby to one of the tables closer to the small stage in the corner of the bar. They sat there for a few more minutes and Ruby let Emma know about what she had missed when she had left early from the bar downtown the night before. Apparently, one of the guys they had been chatting to had a Maserati. 'Still not enough to get me in his bed.' Emma laughed into her beer.

'Oh, I know but man he was trying hard.'

'Haha, he was, wasn't he?' Emma laughed harder. 'Men can be so blind sometimes.'

'Yes, yes we know. Emma Swan is hella gay and everyone knows it.' Ruby laughed at her friend and stuck her tongue out. 'I'm still thinking of getting you that shirt to wear out, by the way!'

'Yeah I don't think a shirt that says "no one knows I'm a lesbian" is necessarily my style.' Emma grimaced.

'Yeah probably not.' Ruby agreed. 'Oh shit, that's her, Em! What did I tell ya? Totes your type.' Ruby pointed towards the stage.

Emma turned her head towards the stage and almost couldn't believe who she saw there. 'Regina.' She hadn't realised she'd said out loud.

'Yeah Regina something.' Ruby agreed. 'You know her?' She cocked an eyebrow in Emma's direction.

'No, I don't. Well, not really.' Emma stumbled, which only made her friend eye her more suspiciously. 'I mean she came into the diner earlier today. But that's it.' Emma hid her embarrassment at her own rambling and the slight flush on her cheeks in her beer.

'And you run into her _twice_ in one day!' Ruby gasped. 'Oh my god this is perfect! You have to talk to her when she's done playing!'

Just as Ruby said that, Regina sat down on the small stage and quickly ran her fingers over her vintage looking acoustic guitar. 'Good to see you all again.' She said quietly. 'How about I start us off slow with some Dylan?' She then began to play and Emma swore that if she hadn't already been transfixed with her, she definitely was now. Regina's voice was smooth, a lovely alto voice and she could play guitar like she had been playing the instrument her entire life. Emma knew she was in trouble. There was no way that this was going to end well.

Emma couldn't tell how many songs she had simply sat and watched Regina play, but suddenly there was a set of long fingers snapping in front of her face. She turned to see Ruby on the other side of the table with an amused look on her face. 'Sorry, what's up?'

'I asked if you'd like another beer.' Ruby laughed at her friend's aloofness.

'I'll get this round.' Emma offered as she stood up. 'You want the same?'

Ruby simply nodded her head and watched Emma practically tear herself away from watching Regina sing. 'Two lagers, please.' Emma said to the barman before turning back to the stage. She hadn't realised that it must have been the break in Regina's set as she walked to the bar and found herself scanning the room for her. _Get yourself together, Swan. _Emma chided herself.

'Here you are, love.' The barman said as he handed Emma the two drinks she had asked for and just as she was about to pay him for the fare, he turned to someone next to her and said, 'You want the usual, darling?'

'Please, Tony. Thank you!' A familiar voice replied. Emma turned to see Regina standing almost next to her at the bar. It wasn't until Regina turned towards her that Emma realised she was staring. Regina cocked an eyebrow at her.

'Uh.' Emma stuttered and in the process spilled her drink on herself. 'Shit.' She exclaimed, embarrassment flushing her cheeks.

Regina simply laughed and grabbed a few napkins from behind the bar. 'Here you go.' She said as she handed them to Emma. 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you.'

'Oh. No, no you didn't. I'm just…I'm just clumsy.' Emma laughed as she attempted to wipe the spilled beer off of her. 'Thank you.'

'No, it's okay, honestly. I have quite the penchant for being a bit of a klutz myself.' Regina smiled and Emma felt it in her chest.

'Great set, by the way.' Emma said as she tried to be as cool as she could. 'You've got a beautiful voice.'

Regina tilted her head and studied Emma's face. 'Thank you. Do I know you?' She corrected herself at her bluntness. 'I mean you just look so familiar.'

'You came into my diner this morning.' Emma said as she took a drink of her beer and then immediately choked as she realised what she'd said. 'I mean the diner that I work at. I don't own it.'

'Right!' Regina smiled. 'I thought you looked familiar. What was your name again?'

'Emma.' Emma went to offer her hand to Regina but realised that it was covered in beer and retracted it as quickly as she had offered.

Regina just smiled and bit the corner of her lip. 'Right. Emma. Nice to meet you again. I'm Regina.' This time it was Regina who offered her hand and tried not to laugh when Emma wiped her hand on her dark wash jeans before accepting the handshake. 'Well, I've got to get back up there. Are you going to stick around? Maybe we can grab another drink when I'm done.'

'Yeah…' Emma stuttered, 'I'll be around.'

'Great.' Regina smiled at Emma's nervousness. 'Nice to properly meet you, Emma.' And with that she sauntered back up to the stage.

'So, it looks like I was right.' Emma heard Ruby say from behind her.

'Hm?' Emma said without turning around.

'Oh my god, lets go sit down, crazy!' Ruby laughed as she grabbed her drink in one hand and Emma's arm in the other and dragged her back to their table.

Regina's set lasted about forty-five minutes more and during that time both Ruby and Emma had gotten up once to get more drinks. 'I'm going to go outside and have a smoke!' Emma said to her friend as she stood and fished her pack of smokes out of her backpack.

'One of these days, I'm going to finally convince you to quit those things.' Ruby swore.

'What can I say? It adds to my "street rat" persona.' Emma said with a wink and then walked up the stairs to the outside of the bar.

Once outside, Emma lit up her smoke and leaned against the cool brick facade of the building. Even in summer, it was cold at the beach at night and the evening sea breeze made Emma wish that she had brought a hoodie or a sweater of some sort. 'And here I thought you'd run out on that drink you'd promised me.' Emma heard a voice say to her left and jumped slightly at the sudden break in her peace. Emma opened her eyes and saw Regina standing next to her with the same purple handbag from earlier in the day on her shoulder and her guitar case in hand. 'Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, again.' She apologised.

'No, it's ok.' Emma smiled. 'I guess I can also add jumpy to the list of my more attractive qualities.' She inwardly made a face at her use of the word 'attractive,' but there was no taking it back now.

Regina laughed slightly and tucked a stray piece of raven hair behind her ear. 'I guess so.' She agreed.

Emma snuffed her cigarette on the bottom of her boot and flicked it into the bin to her left. 'So, can I buy you that drink?' She asked.

As soon as the words had left Emma's mouth, the Bach Cello Suite #1 Prelude filled the air. Regina fished through her bag and pulled out her phone. Disappointment crossed her face as she looked at the lit up screen. 'Will you excuse me for a moment?' She asked.

'Yeah sure. Go ahead.' Emma replied to her, waving off any hint of impoliteness.

Regina stepped a few feet away from Emma and took the phone call. Not that she was watching, per say, but Emma saw Regina's shoulders slump as she spoke to whomever was one the other end of the phone. 'Yes, I'm aware.' She said flatly. 'Of course. Is he on the way now? Oh.' Regina turned her head to scan the street and Emma turned, as well, to see a black town car pull up across the street. 'Never mind, I can see him. Yes, I'm on my way back.' With that , Regina ended the call and then turned back to Emma, who quickly tried to pulled out her phone and pretended to text. She had to admit that even to her it was unconvincing.

'I apologise, Emma, but it seems we're going to have to have that drink some other time.' Regina said as she replaced her phone in her handbag.

'Oh.' Emma tried to hide the disappointment in her voice. 'Don't worry about it! I completely understand.'

'It was nice to see you again, Emma.' Regina said as she met Emma's eyes. 'I hope to run into you sometime soon.'

Before Emma could even reply, Regina was looking both ways and sprinting across the street to where a man in a black suit was holding the back door to the town car open. She handed him her guitar case and he closed the door before opening the boot and placing the case inside. And just like that, she was gone. _Fuck! I didn't get her number. _Emma thought as her left hand flew up to cover her face. Crestfallen, Emma turned back towards the building and back down the stairs to the bar.

When she returned, she found Ruby had pulled up another chair to the small table they had been sitting at and now had her arm around the bartender from before who was occupying it. 'Hey, Ems! Where's Miss Hotstuff?' Emma immediately recognised that the new nickname was for Regina. 'I thought she was going to join us!'

'She had to go.' Emma said as she picked up her beer and finished what was left in one long gulp, then put it back on the table with a little more force than she had intended.

'Did you get her number at least?' Ruby wondered.

Emma didn't reply. Instead she just stared blankly at her friend in a manner that simply said, _'What do you think?'_

'Don't worry, babes!' Ruby reached across the small table and patted Emma's hand. 'You two ran into each other twice in one day. I'm sure you'll see her again.' Emma smiled back at her friend, grateful for the reassuring words. 'But, in the meantime, how do you feel about a whiskey shot? It'll take the edge off!'

Before Emma could reply, Ruby was already up and headed towards the bar. And for a second, Emma let herself hope her friend was right.


End file.
